The present invention relates to the links of a chain conveyor.
In the known art conveyors are well known which comprise a plurality of interconnected links to define an articulated transportation plane, running along appropriate guides. Each link comprises one transversely-extended plate running on the conveyor guide and the upper side of which embodies the transportation plane.
In order to enable the installation to run smoothly, a friction limitation between the links and the guide is important. In addition, wear in the sliding parts must be also limited. There is therefore a tendency to make the guides of metal or plastic material having good qualities in terms of smoothness and resistance to wear. As regards links, the material selection is an important problem complicated by the necessity to combine in a single material, a high mechanical strength and good features in terms of smoothness and reduced wear.
In addition, the quality of the plastic material is restricted since it is obviously necessary to limit costs for the links.
At all events, good-quality products are subjected to wear too in the long run and it is therefore necessary to replace entire chain stretches, which involves costs.
It is a general object of the present invention to obviate the above mentioned drawbacks by providing links for conveyors of easy and cheap manufacture, while offering improved smoothness and resistance to wear.